[VanDeKoik]

Is this seriously what Linux people are bragging about?

500 computers that almost no one will ever use, that just chucks out raw data? Of course they use Linux!

And guess what? 99% of the computers that will ever do anything remotely useful with that data are not running Linux, and number in the billions.

I shudder to think how many of those 500 machines are used by the NSA to mine our data.

[DonaldC]

I’ve used both and both have their strong points and weak points. Really depends on your needs, budget and expertise. I don’t see one as any more or less productive than the other. That is in the hands of the user.

[ShadowAce]

Are you a bot? Your fourth sentence is the exact opposite of your second sentence. I’d suggest opening a help ticket for your developer(s) to try to increase your consistency.

[tahoeblue]

I shudder to think how many of those 500 machines are used by the NSA to mine our data.

None - the NSA does not publish their capabilities on the Top500 list.

Do large machines at the NSA run Linux? Yes. Do they mine our data with those machines? Yes. Where would the primary NSA systems rank in the list if they were published? Their list ranking would be in the single digits.

[cynwoody]

And guess what? 99% of the computers that will ever do anything remotely useful with that data are not running Linux, and number in the billions.

If you want to get into the billions of computers, you've got to include embedded systems, most of which run neither Linux nor Windows. However, embedded systems big enough to need a real OS, e.g., your home router, are quite likely to be running Linux.

Most of the world's smartphones and tablets are running either Android, which is based on Linux, or iOS, which isn't Linux but is based on another Unix. Windows is way behind in that segment.

It's true that most of the world's laptops and desktops are still running Windows. However, even there, a lot of the useful work uses the web, which is mostly powered by Linux.

(The chart is interactive at the source)

Google has run Linux since the beginning and now probably has the largest collection of Linux boxes in the world. Some years ago a Google engineer gave a talk in which he outlined how Google's servers are configured. He boasted that they were getting the performance of a large Sun server at a tenth the cost. He didn't even mention Windows.